FORMER COP OFFERS NEW SPIN ON 'DRUG WAR'

UPPER DARBY - Former Police Captain Peter J. Christ challenged local
Rotarians recently to take a different look at the "war on drugs."
"You don't go to war if it's going to last forever," said Christ.
"The war metaphor doesn't fit, but it makes us feel good."

Christ, who pronounces his name like "wrist," is vice director of Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). The international group of
350 current or former law enforcement officers and several thousand
"friends" formed in 2002 to push for the legalization and regulation
of currently illegal drugs.

"[Prohibition] creates crime and violence that need not exist,"
argued Christ. "It doesn't work, and it creates an underground
economic machine. The mob doesn't pay taxes, so they get to spend that money."

Christ spoke to the Upper Darby/ Lansdowne Rotary Club Sept. 21 as
part of their weekly lecture series.

Christ worked for 20 years as an officer in a suburban police force
outside of Buffalo, N.Y., before retiring and dedicating his time to
speaking about the nation's drug policy.

He compared the current approach to the attempt in the 1930s to
outlaw alcohol. Christ said legalization wouldn't cut down on all the
issues drug addiction causes, but would lessen the number of people
in prison and violent crime.

"I want drugs regulated and controlled," said Christ. "At LEAP, we
don't have a position on what the regulated market should look like.
We're concerned it's not being discussed."

When exposed to LEAP's perspective, local police chief Dennis
Anderson of Newtown Square disagreed.

"I think if you polled most of the officers answering calls on drugs,
they wouldn't support [legalization]," he said.

Anderson countered that there would not be less drug-related crime
after legalization, saying addiction would still make people unable
to function normally.

"You're still not going to be able to do your job," said Anderson.

Christ said the federal government's spending of $400 million in
Afghanistan in the 1990s illustrates an example where prohibition did
work temporarily. At the time, that country, he said, was America's
leading heroin supplier.

Christ said the Taliban regime took the money and cracked down on
opium growers, causing a heroin shortage. That shortage was ended
when the producers of U.S. supply moved to South America, according
to Christ. When the Taliban fell, Christ said, opium production began
in Afghanistan again.

"[Heroin] is cheaper than it's ever been before," said Christ.

No matter what the justifications, however, Clifton Heights Police
Chief Walter Senkow objected to legalization on a moral basis.

"At that point, we're telling our kids, it's okay to abuse their
bodies," Senkow said.

Anderson argued that education and good parenting, rather than
legalized regulation, is a superior alternative.

"You've got to start communicating with your kids," said Anderson.
"Be a parent. Ask questions."

Anderson also praised a Pennsylvania Law passed in 2004 that requires
treatment for drug addicts sent to prison in the state.

Christ, on the other hand, said the current national drug policy is
flawed, and at the very least, further dialogue is needed.

"We have the biggest prison system in the world right now," said
Christ. "It hasn't made the problem any better. We need to have this
discussion."